really? that's a little over the top, I think. Even if you disagree with him, Thomas didn't even say anything all that bad. McSorely nearly killed a guy on the ice. Totally ridiculous comparison.

One was a spur of the moment stupid move, the other has been thought about for a long time and is still terrible stupid, arrogant, and ignorant to the fans and team. The level of stupidity for me applies to the amount of thought involved.

I don't agree at all with Thomas's political views, but if a professional athlete is at the top of his game and suddenly withdraws from view, something's wrong. And it's not up to me or any other person to stand in judgement of him unless they know what that something is.

I will be forever grateful to Thomas for helping the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup since I was a kid. And I wish him the best, and personal peace, in the future.

As for practical matters, his cap hit comes off the books after this season. There's no need to buy him out.

One was a spur of the moment stupid move, the other has been thought about for a long time and is still terrible stupid, arrogant, and ignorant to the fans and team. The level of stupidity for me applies to the amount of thought involved.

And one was a terrible act of violence and the other was....what exactly? I mean what did Thomas even do to piss you off so much?

the guy was the MVP of our Stanley Cup winning team. he's decided to take the year off and spend time with his family, and, oh yea....he's a republican (OH NO, THE HORROR!) so he gets bashed here in Boston. big deal, i still love the guy and it's not like our goalie situation is ****ed because of it. we're gonna be okay

I believe the answer is no, as the buyouts can not occur until after this season, and after this season Thomas will be a free agent, unless of course the Bruins decide to roll his contract forward, which they won;t

It is all pretty meaningless, my understanding is the Bruins have plenty of space for this season, even with the Thomas 5 mil on the books, and then next year it simply goes away

God bless him. Walking away from millions to enjoy life with his family. Its fitting that his last moment on ice as a Bruin was cheering up his kids through the glass after the game 7 loss. Best Bruin goaltender I've ever seen and one hell of a role model about how to go hard after what is good in life.

I don't have any hard feelings towards Timmy. Sure he's kind of a nut, but I can't fault him for putting family first. And that 2011 playoff run was one of the great Bruins experiences of my life, thanks in a large part to his unbelievable play in goal. Best of luck to him.